S2 (missile)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medium-range ballistic missile
| S2 | |
|---|---|
| S2 SSBS displayed at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget. | |
| Type | MRBM |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1971-1984 |
| Used by | French Air Force |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Aérospatiale |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 31,900 kg (70,300 lb) |
| Length | 14.8 m (49 ft) |
| Diameter | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Warhead | 1 ×ばつ MR 31 nuclear warhead, 120 kilotonnes |
| Engine | Two-stage Solid-fuel rocket 534 kN (120,000 lbf) |
Operational range | 3,000 km (1,900 mi) |
Guidance system | Inertial |
Launch platform | Silo, Plateau d'Albion |
.JPG){kind=link}
The S2 was the first deployed French land-based strategic missile, equipped with a single nuclear warhead of 120 kilotonnes. In French it is called a Sol-Sol Balistique Stratégique, (SSBS or "ground-ground strategic ballistic missile"). The S2 was a two-stage, solid-propellant medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM).[1]
Operational history
[edit ]Deployed in 1971, the main land-based component of the French nuclear deterrent (force de dissuasion ) was the S2 missile, rounding out their strategic nuclear triad along with air and submarine assets. Two groups totalling 18 S2 missile silos were deployed at Apt-Saint-Christol airbase, on the Plateau d'Albion in the Vaucluse region.
The S2 was replaced by the S3 SSBS in the early 1980s.
See also
[edit ]- Nuclear proliferation
- France and weapons of mass destruction
- Force de dissuasion, defunct French nuclear triad
References
[edit ]- ^ "SSBS S02". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010.